Somerset CCC match reports plus occasional articles and poems

Somerset Legends. Hallam Moseley.

Around Christmas 2016 some memories of Hallam Moseley were posted on grockles.com after some footage of the John Player League appeared on one of the discussion threads. It brought back my own memories of Moseley and his time with Somerset. I posted the following, now expanded, article as a tribute to a player who gave his all to Somerset and touched the hearts of a generation of Somerset supporters.

A number of varying comments have given me pause to think about just what it was that made Hallam Moseley the Somerset legend many hold him to be. It was certainly not performances alone nor do a smile or an unforgettable boundary throw of themselves quite make the legend he became although they were key to it.

What is clear is Hallam Moseley constantly touched large numbers of people’s lives, or at least their cricket loving lives, and left them feeling the better for it. A number of people have described how the mere sight of a photograph or a memory of Moseley brings a smile to their face. I suspect it also brings joy to their hearts. Having the personality and the talent to do that is worth much in any human being.

Where a cricketer with such gifts is good enough to hold a place in a strong county team for over a decade they become legendary figures to many. It is not a rational thing. It cannot be quantified. It is an intangible visceral emotion that touches the heart. You either feel it or you don’t and there is nothing to be done about it either way. Most who saw Moseley play feel it.

In performance terms Hallam Moseley was not out of the very top drawer of cricketers. Few are. He never played a Test Match in that era of great West Indian fast bowlers. But, to achieve the legendary status he has within and, with some, beyond Somerset, he had to be good enough to warrant continuing respect as a First Class cricketer whatever his other attributes.

He was at or very near the top drawer of county players. 557 first class wickets and a bowling average of 24.53 in a first class career of over ten years and over 200 matches testifies to that. Whilst his 16 five wicket hauls suggest he did not regularly bowl sides out his average suggests he was consistently threatening and a regular wicket taker.

He remains Somerset’s top wicket taker in List A cricket which was his and Somerset’s strong suit in his day. He took 313 wickets at 19.91 with an economy rate of 3.63 in days when teams tended to score at between four and five runs an over. That is undeniably in the top drawer of county List A players.

List A, in his time the John Player League and various cup competitions, was what supporters flocked to see. They filled grounds and Hallam Moseley was one of the players people came especially to see. More than once I found myself standing through the length of a sold-out John Player League game.

By comparison with Moseley, Colin Dredge, another Somerset favourite and slightly younger contemporary (the current game has changed too much for statistical comparisons with today to be valid) returned a more than creditable 253 List A wickets at 25.42 with an economy rate of 4.02. His first class bowling average was 30.10. To set this comparison in context Moseley almost certainly enjoyed greater use of the new ball than did Dredge during their respective careers.

Many have made comments which recall the attributes that gave Hallam Moseley the place he holds in many of our hearts. The wickets, the economy, the fielding, that gazelle of a throw, the classic tail-end sixes, the genuineness of the man, the smile, always the smile, the warmth he exuded, the rapport he built with supporters, the time he was always prepared to give them and the life-long appreciation he instilled in them. That is where Hallam Moseley’s legendary status comes from. All these things in a rare personal and cricketing mix.

Bill Alley, another top county player who did not play Test cricket, exhibited a mix of personal and cricketing qualities that similarly drew people to him. He too enjoys legendary status among Somerset supporters of a certain age. It is an attribute achieved by few.

There have been better players than Hallam Moseley, or Bill Alley for that matter, who played for Somerset. Some played for Somerset for as long, even longer but few won hearts as quickly or to quite the extent he did. For many of us he still has the power to raise our spirits at the mere thought of him on a cricket field.

And for those with the strength to go on here are a couple of anecdotes to spice the mix…

I did not see Hallam Moseley play anything like as often as I would have liked for I never lived within two hundred miles of the County Ground for most of his career with Somerset. A friend did live in Somerset at the time and he describes a time before Moseley’s arrival. It was a time of old style fielding where fielders, particularly pace bowlers, did not often extend themselves in the chase and would not ‘attack’ the ball as is the modern way.

Then out of the Caribbean blue arrived this exuberant young pace bowler with the windmill action and a huge smile who raced around the boundary, scooped up the ball and in the same smooth movement propelled it with an underarm flick like a guided missile to the keeper.

He was one of the harbingers of the fielding revolution wrought by one day cricket. Not enough, of itself, to warrant ‘cult’ status. That required all the attributes listed above and more. But it was such a spectacular introduction that it made an immediate impact on people’s consciousness; an impact that became indelible over the next ten years and remains inprinted in minds to this day.

I am sure the join between the ‘old’ days and the harbinger of the new was not quite as clear cut as this. Brian Rose and Peter Denning preceded Hallam Moseley in the great Somerset team of which he was a member but he came in on the cusp of the change and his impact on people’s consciousness was immediate and lasting.

For myself I remember in particular the knife-edged Gillette Cup semi-final at Canterbury in 1974 with 500 travelling Somerset supporters corralled into a stand next to the lime tree. They cheered the team on, as only Somerset supporters can, as wickets fell early in the Kent innings against a paltry Somerset score of 154. “Will they run wild if they lose?” asked one ashen faced Kent lady of her husband. He failed to answer. There was no riot nor was there ever any prospect of one whatever the result.

Towards the end Bob Woolmer gradually eased the lady’s fears as he edged the match towards Kent. As Woolmer closed in Brian Close turned to Moseley. Moseley ran in. As clear as day I remember him passing the outside edge of Woolmer’s bat five times in an over. Woolmer finally connected with the last ball and drove it for three, perhaps Moseley stretched a little too far trying to coax movement out of the ageing ball.

Moseley stuck doggedly to his task through that exasperating over. Not a ball was fired in short. He simply strove to beat the bat. Many of the top pace bowlers struggle to keep their calm when persistence and pressure like that does not take a wicket. Moseley, professional to the core, kept his cool. That was the measure of the man.

I am eternally thankful I was privileged to watch a fine cricketer and a wonderful man who gave his all for Somerset and who was prepared to give any of us who wanted it his time.

The original version of this article was first published on grockles.com on 28th December 2016.

TAGS

‘Farmer White’ Somerset Cricket Writing

The purpose of this website is to provide a location where the collected cricket writing of ‘Farmer White’, most of which is published on diverse ‘threads’ on grockles.com, an independent Somerset cricket website, can be accessed and read in one location.

The posts which appear on this site have been edited to remove some errors and some repetition which can occur especially when a post, as most were, were written at pace immediately after a match and well into the early hours of the morning.

For the same reason the flow of the original text has been improved in some places and occasionally re-ordered. However the substance and style of the original posts remain unaltered. The original posts are still available on grockles.com.

A paragraph in italics has been added before most posts to set some brief context for the post. After each match report, also in italics, a summary scorecard of each day’s play has been added.

‘Farmer White’ will continue to post future match reports on grockles.com as well as on this site.

In addition to reporting on the cricket ‘Farmer White’ reports may contain opinion and try to reflect the atmosphere of the match. ‘Farmer White’ also writes about the experience of being a Somerset supporter whether at a match or not.

In addition to match reports the site contains articles and poems related to Somerset cricket all written by ‘Farmer White’. Further examples are added from time to time.

Match reports on every day of Championship cricket in 2018 are now in place. August.

Additionally some reports on T20 matches from 2018 will bw found on the site. page.

This is a ‘blog’ style website and so all posts appear on the Home Page. The most recently dated post appears at the top. Beyond that posts appear in reverse date order.

To aid navigation match reports have been dated the date on which the play took place. The date the report was posted on grockles.com is contained at the end of each post.

Please refer to the ‘Site Guide’ page for advice on how to navigate the site. Alternatively please refer to the ‘contents’ page which contains links to all articles and is updated each time a new item is posted on the site.

This project is still in its early stages and will take time to grow. One step at a time will be the watchword. Its development will be kept under review.

This section will be updated periodically as the content of the site develops.

‘Farmer White’

17th March 2019

‘Farmer White’

‘Farmer White’, the author of this site, was brought up on the story of one of Somerset’s greatest cricketers, JC ‘Farmer’ White; of how his slow left arm bowling was the epitome of accuracy and that he captained England.

An indelible impression was made and, as indelible impressions do, it has remained with him.

When, at the end of the 2016 season, he began to post reports and occasional articles and poems on threads on grockles.com and needed a posting name ‘Farmer White’ was the natural choice.

JC ‘Farmer’ White 1891-1961

JC ‘Jack’ or ‘Farmer’ White played for Somerset CCC from 1907-37. He captained the side from 1927-31.

He remains the County’s leading First Class wicket taker with 2167 at an average of 18.02. He took 100 First Class wickets in a season 14 times.

With the bat he scored six centuries and scored 1000 runs in a season twice.

He took 381 catches.

He played in 15 Tests for England and captained England four times.

In the 1928-9 Ashes series he was England’s top wicket taker with 25.

In the Adelaide Test he took 13 for 256 in 124.5 overs and England won by 12 runs.

‘FARMER WHITE’ ON CRICKET

To locate the post in which a quote appears click the post title located immediately beneath the quote.

“And then, as at the end of the last match of every season, there was the reluctance of many to leave their seats as they watched, across an empty outfield, the memories of the season past. Better memories for Somerset supporters than for Nottinghamshire ones this year.”Notts v Som CC1 Day 3 26th Sep 2018“Winter well”

“Those modes of dismissal summed up the different characters of the bowling of Overton and Gregory. The one seemingly forcing his way through defences to snatch wickets. The other quietly purloining them from unwary batsmen.”Notts v Som CC1 Day 2 25th Sep 2018Business end

“This was Hildreth at his glorious, apparently carefree, but doubtless intensely focused best. As the clouds gathered in they might have been the chariots of gods come to see who was creating such perfection in the imperfect world below.”Notts v Som CC1 Day 1 24th Sep 2018Of genius and the sublime

“Somerset 4 for 2. And then Hildreth. Hildreth did what Hildreth does. An on driven boundary of perfection off his first ball.”
Som v Surrey CC1 Day 3 20 Sep 2018Fighting hard

“They be too good for we,” the comment from across the aisle. There was perhaps more truth in that than even the speaker, who I find to be perceptively knowledgeable about cricket, realised.”
Som v Surrey CC1 Day 2 19 Sep 2018Somerset under the weather

“Somerset in the field were exemplified by Abell at cover. I lost count of the number of times a ball flew off the bat with ‘four’ written all over it only to find itself snared by Abell’s electrifying dives.”Som v Surrey CC1 Day 1 18 Sep 2018Surrey on the road

“If momentum means anything we have a chance,” someone said, and Somerset had picked up momentum at the end of the Sussex innings as fast as the Bungee Blast was shooting people into the air. Whether Somerset could turn the match on its head as the bungee did its rotating victims was another matter.”
Som v Sussex T20 SF 15 Sep 2018 All Wright on the night

“When you are at a match and a Test-class fast bowler gets it right at pace and settles into a wicket-taking rhythm in helpful conditions on a helpful pitch it is as if a force of nature has been unleashed on the batsmen.”
Hants v Som CC1 Day 2 11 Sep 2018A test of class

“On the way back to the car my white wyvern hat attracted another Somerset supporter. It does that. “38 for 3 the last I heard,” he said, “What is going on?” “It’s worse than that,” I replied, “we were 72 for 5 at Lunch.” It was worse than that. “Not us. Them,” he replied. “They are 38 for 3. We were 106 all out.”
Hants v Som CC1 Day 1 10 Sep 2018Seam from a distance

“I don’t know how much apprehension a human being is supplied with at birth but I have used up enough to fill one of those super tankers that are so difficult to to turn around just watching Somerset.”
Som v Lancs CC1 Day 2 5 Sep 2018Four days tied up in two

“After Lunch, Leach got to work. He started to pick away at the batsmen like an examiner picks away at students who have not done their revision.”
Som v Lancs CC1 Day 1 4 Sep 201822 wickets and 298 runs in Stygian Gloom

“To see one Overton in full flow is a sight worth the seeing. To see both in full flow and in tandem is a sight to treasure.”Yorks v Som CC1 Day 4 1 Sep 2018Yorkshire outpaced

“The Yorkshire crowd cannot be faulted for its impartiality when judging the cricket. Even a loud lbw appeal against Hildreth playing well forward met with the response, “No. Thee can’t gi’ that. He’s too far forrard.”Yorks v Som CC1 Day 3 31 Aug 2018Perfect day

“The comments of opposition supporters, as a match unfolds, sit on the opposite end of the emotional seesaw to where your own feelings sit. At Headingley the frequency of the comments keeps the seesaw constantly in motion.”
Yorks v Som CC1 Day 2 30 Aug 2018Not too bad a day

“The gentlest of gentle bat movements produced rocket like power in the ball as it skimmed the outfield and crossed the boundary directly in front of me. “Just look at that,” another Yorkshire voice drooled.”
Yorks v Som CC1 Day 1 29 Aug 2018Cavalcade

“It was as if the Gillette Cup had passed through a time warp and come to visit. The atmosphere had the feel of those days again. And the match had the feel of the great cup runs of the 70s and 80s.”
Som v Notts T20 QF 27 Aug 2018Gregory’s game

“This was a significant victory not just in the context of this season but in marking the continuing development of what has the potential to become one of the all-time great Somerset teams, perhaps, just perhaps, the greatest of them all.”
Som v Essex CC1 Day 4 22 Aug 2018A match for the ages

“The Essex horse was loose in the paddock with no-one apparently able to close the gate other than Leach and it is too big a job for one man.”
Som v Essex CC1 Day 3 21 Aug 2018Of stable doors

“Davey has emerged as a genuine front line bowler to be reckoned with this season. No longer a man dependent on April green tops for his wickets. The ball with which he bowled Westley was as good as any you will see.”
Som v Essex CC1 Day 2 20 Aug 2018Bowled over

“The talk at the back of the Somerset Pavilion (elevated) was of Peter Wight. Of Peter Wight and Fred Trueman. Of the day in 1962 when Fred Trueman arrived late for the Championship match at Taunton and was sent home by the Yorkshire captain for his pains.”Som v Essex CC1 Day 1 19 Aug 20181962 all over again

“As I left after the match I spoke to a couple who might have watched Somerset in the 1950s and probably did. Neither of them had ever watched T20 before. “A great match,” they said, “and the fielding is a level above.”
Sur’y v Som T20 S Group 10 Aug 2018A stellar match

“Van de Merwe examined the batsmen with the accuracy of a dentist probing with a drill. He imposed the same disinclination to make any rash movements on the batsmen as a dentist does on a patient.”
Hants v Som T20 S Group 8 Aug 2018A Rye look at the cricket

“The light relented and after Tea out into this frozen wasteland the rules of cricket demanded the players return.”
Som v Yorks CC1 Day 2 29 Apr 2018Somerset’s Arctic expedition

” There is no need to use superlatives because it was a superlative innings full of its own superlatives.”
Som v Yorks CC1 Day 1 28 Apr 2018A century for lunch

I remember watching Basil D’Oliviera play and not just at the end of his career. Now I was watching his grandson. ‘Fugit inreparabile tempus’ as Virgil had it. ‘It escapes, irretrievable time” as the all-knowing internet translates it.”
Som v Worcs CC1 Day 3 22 Apr 2018 At last

“One of the things about catching up on 43 years while trying to watch the cricket is you miss the odd thing. Sometimes you miss a year, sometimes you miss a wicket. I missed Abell’s.”
Som v Worcs CC1 Day2 21 Apr 2018Hildreth takes it away

“The first day of Somerset’s 2018 season. It started disastrously. The patisserie on Paddington Station where I used to start my journeys to Taunton during the years of my eastern exile had gone.”
Som v Worcs CC1 Day 1 20 Apr 2018Renshaw drives hard